This image of an activist who stood in the path of neo-Nazis marching through Sweden, with her fist raised defiantly in the air has become a powerful symbol in the ongoing fight against racism.

Tess Asplund was pictured in Borlänge, a traditionally left-wing stronghold 130 miles north of Stockholm, where around 300 uniformed members of the Nazi organisation Nordic Resistance, were gathering on 1 May.

The 42-year-old, who was taking part in a counter demonstration organised by Dalarna Against Racism, saw her show of defiance go viral after it was captured by photographer David Lagerlöf.

“There was one of them staring at me and I stared back. He said nothing and I said nothing either. Then the police came pretty quickly and took me away.”

When asked if she was worried for her safety, she replied: “No, I’m not afraid of them. I was pissed off.

“If this makes people pay attention to the fight against racism and xenophobia, it’s great.”

The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images
Asplund says she employs the raised fist of defiance in the same manner of Nelson Mandela

Lagerlöf, who photographed the tense moment, told Dagladet: “It resembles the fight between David and Goliath – a little man who stands up against something bigger.”

“These are the [Nordic Resistance Movement’s] leadership figures slowly walking towards her, and it looks like her and the leader’s eyes meet, that they are staring at each other,” he added, speaking to the TT newswire.